The time we are living in is no longer simply uncertain: it is defined by extreme fragility, incomprehensibility, and anxiety.
Over the past decades, two acronyms have guided academic reflections on the world of work, management, and leadership: VUCA and BANI.
In the late 1980s, economists and university professors Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus coined the acronym VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity)[1] to describe the context—and consequently, the leadership challenges—shaped by various external factors that emerged due to the Cold War. The VUCA model, initially developed in military contexts and later adopted by the business world in the 2000s, has since been used to design strategies and leadership models in a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
However, this paradigm has gradually lost its descriptive power in the face of pandemics, geopolitical crises, and technological acceleration.
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, American anthropologist Jamais Cascio introduced a new framework to describe the future: BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible)[2].
This model aims to highlight the effects on individuals and organizations of the very factors previously outlined by the VUCA model.
The BANI reality is characterized by:
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Brittleness – referring to the vulnerability of systems and structures, exposed by multiple recent events;
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Anxiety – the stress and anxiety experienced by individuals (including leaders) as a result of constant uncertainty;
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Non-linearity – the outcomes of decisions are often non-linear, leading to unpredictable and disproportionate impacts;
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Incomprehensibility – the difficulty in understanding or predicting the impact of situations and events due to the rapid pace of change overwhelming organizations.
The BANI paradigm underscores the need for a shift in mindset, one that aligns with the times and guides leadership—and thus organizations—toward an approach rooted in:
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resilience, the ability to adapt to change and turn it into opportunity,
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continuous learning, especially focused on strengthening soft skills,
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the ability to interpret and leverage the vast amounts of data being generated, necessitating the development of analytical skills,
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the promotion of an inclusive and supportive culture that fosters organizational well-being and counters anxiety linked to uncertainty,
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the development of an agile and adaptive mindset capable of responding rapidly to unexpected events.
As Cascio aptly puts it, in a BANI world, there are no universally effective solutions—only attempts at responses[3].
The world is fragile — and so must leadership be…
In a BANI world, the traditional model of “heroic” leadership—rational, strategic, and dominant—typical of the VUCA era, now appears outdated. The ideal leadership model for Generation Z and those that follow is adaptive, distributed, and even vulnerable: leaders are no longer seen as the sole holders of knowledge, but rather as facilitators who embody alignment between values and actions, without seeking control.
While VUCA represented the challenge of a world in motion, BANI represents the challenge of a world in pieces.
Generation Z does not seek invincible, solitary leaders, but human ones, capable of building and nurturing networks of trust. This is a generation that firmly rejects the rhetoric of authority and security, and instead favors leaders who can question themselves, share responsibility, and foster horizontal relationships, in a spirit of co-creation based on coherence and humility.
In this light, BANI leadership becomes an evolutionary necessity: if the world is fragile, leadership can no longer be rigid; if time is non-linear and anxiety is systemic, leaders must become part of the change—supporting their teams by embracing transparency, even in vulnerability.
BANI leadership is not weakness: it is clarity amid chaos, and it is the only leadership language that truly resonates with the generations of the future.
Authored by
Melania Prisco, HR Business Partner
[1] The acronym was first introduced in the book “Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge” by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, published by Harper & Row in 1986.
[2] The acronym BANI first appeared in a Medium article titled “Facing the Age of Chaos” by Jamais Cascio, 2020
[3] At least on the surface, the components of the acronym might even suggest potential responses: brittleness could be met with resilience and slack; anxiety might be eased by empathy and mindfulness; non-linearity would call for context and flexibility; incomprehensibility demands transparency and intuition. These may be more reactions than solutions, but they suggest the possibility that responses can be found. […]
It’s something that might need a new language to describe it. It’s something that will almost certainly require a new way of thinking to explore.
— “Facing the Age of Chaos”, Jamais Cascio, 2020